3. eBook

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the main centers for research on higher education, as well as the many graduate-level academic programs being offered in the study of higher education. The inventory not only provides a “snapshot” of these important activities but also serves as an unparalleled resource for facilitating communication and collaboration across the higher education research and training community.

Building on groundbreaking earlier editions, this book represents in its 3rd Edition a systematic effort to produce the most current picture possible of the global landscape of research centers focused on higher education, as well as academic programs awarding graduate degrees in this field. Each research center or institute included in this inventory is focused primarily on higher education research, policy analysis, or related activities—or stands out in its respective country as being a key source for such information and analysis on higher education. In nearly all cases, the centers/institutes have at least one full-time professional staff member, as well as an assigned budget. Likewise, the academic programs profiled in the inventory are focused on teaching and professional preparation in the field of higher education. They have at least one full-time faculty member with significant involvement in the program, and offer a graduate-level degree (master’s or doctorate) or other formal credentials. The purpose of the inventory is to provide researchers, policymakers, and others with information about where such research centers and academic programs are located around the world, as well as a sense of their size, scope, and primary activities.

The comprehensive listing of academic journals and other relevant publications focused on higher education provides a global guide to information sources—a total of 280 publications are included in more than 20 languages.

This volume also includes an interpretive essay discussing the current status of the field of higher education by Philip G. Altbach and an analytic chapter concerning the data provided in the book by Laura E. Rumbley, David A. Stanfield, and Ariane de Gayardon.